Portable toilet seat



June 20, 1950 A. E. ROBERTS 2,512,583

PORTABLE TOILET SEAT Filed on. 29, 1946 3 @7 25 6 fizz- A 57W ,4 Tramp/EX INVEN TOR.

Patented June 20, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE Arthur E. Roberts, Cincinnati, Ohio, assig'nor to Empire Products, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a cor-- poration of Ohio Application October 29, 1946, Serial No. 706,455

Claims.

Thisinvention relates to collapsible toilet seats of the type adapted tobe applied to the seat of a toilet fixture of standardsize for converting it to the use of infants and small children. Although the device has been designed for theme of children it can be made in larger sizes and used with equal facility by adults. Y

More particularly the invention resides in an improved nursery seat of this nature which is capable of being collapsed and folded into a compact package and carried in the coat pocket or hand bag for convenient use whentraveling with children.

Briefly, the invention resides in a light weight seat unit which incorporates a unitary metal frame having secured thereon a fabric seat con-- veniently detachable for laundering, the metal frame serving tomaintain the seat in taut condition to support the child, and being collapsible to permit the unit, conveniently tobe folded into a compact package.

One of the primary inconveniences in traveling with a small child or children is that of providing proper toilet facilities for them. The standard toilet seat is too large for the use of a small child, and of equal importance is the questionable sanitary condition of wash room fixtures encountered away from home.

It is therefore desirable to provide a childs seat which may be placed upon the conventional adults toilet seat or bowl not only to support the child thereon but to prevent contact of the exposed parts of the child with the toilet fixture. Further, the child is supported in a comfortable, relaxed position conducive to more healthful elimination. Furthermore, it is highly desirable that the unit be self contained, that is, that the use of separate interfitting parts be eliminated in the interests of speed and convenience in opening the device for use and in foldingrit to be stowed away.

It has been an object of the inventor to provide an improved light weight toilet seat embodying a fabric seat and a metallic frame, the frame of which is capable of being quickly snapped to an open or closed position, which automatically locks itself in, open position and is capable of'being doubled uponv itself in closed position for compactness, and which utilizes the fabric seat as an envelope or Wrapper for the frame when the frame is collapsed.

I It 'hasbeen another object to provide a nursery seat having a comfortable fabric seat, which seat prevents contact of the child with the toilet fix"- ture, and which is conveniently detachable from its frame to permit it to be laundered frequently to maintain a desirable hygienic condition and thereby avoid a possible source of infection.

A further object of the invention has been to provide a device of this nature for use in the home or nursery, which also is readily applied to the various wash room fixtures encountered in travelgig, and which is of simple, inexpensive construe ion.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully apparentfrom a description of the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure I is a top plan view showing the collapsible nursery seat in erected position upon the seat portion of a conventional toilet.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the underside of the device.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the frame element partially collapsed preparatory tofoldin the seat.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the end members of the frame in completely collapsed position.

Figure 5 illustrates the manner of folding the fabric material about the frame element prepara- 1gory to the final doubling over of the frame-memers.

Figure 6 is a view of the device completely collapsed and overfolded in its package form and thereby adapted to be carried in the pocket or hand bag.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View takenon line- T-1 Figure 2 detailing one of the corrner'joints ofthe frame".

Figure 8 is a similar enlarged sectional view taken on line 8"-8' Figure 2 detailing the joint of one of the side members of the frame;

Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective view detaillong one of the self locking joints of the end memers.

Referring toFigure2 of the drawings which 11-- lustrates apreferred embodiment'of the invention, the unit comprises essentially a collapsible metallic framecmember indicated generally at [0,

a and a fabricseatpanel; generally indicated at H.

side edges. The binding is secured by a line or lines of stitching and serves to cover and bind the edges of the seat and to present a neat and finished appearance. The marginal edge of the opening l2 likewise is provided with a binding indicated at M and secured thereto in a similar manner. 1

In the present instance the nursery seat is of rectangular configuration, being slightly greater in length than in width. At each of the respective corners of the fabric seat panel a diagonal strap or band [5 formed of webbing or fabric is secured to the cover preferably by stitching the member along the outer edges of the frame as at i 6. The straps l5 engage diagonally across the four corners of the frame unit to secure the cover in place thereon and to permit the cover to be removed from the frame for an occasional laundering. The cover additionally is provided with a plurality of cords I1. secured to the cover and providing loose ends, one of which passes through apertures l8 in the frame. The loose ends of the cords are tied together as at I 9 thus securing the cover to the frame. When it is desired to remove the cover from the frame for laundering, the cords H are untied and the bands l5 slipped out of engagement with the frame corners, pref erably with the frame in its semi-collapsed condition as shown in Figure 3.

The frame I0 constitutes a collapsible unit of rectangular configuration marginally disposed within the confines of the seat panel to sustain the panel and hold it in shape. in order to minimize the weight of the frame unit, it is formed preferably of flat strips of aluminum, magnesium alloy, or similar light weight metal.

Described in detail, the frame comprises a pair of longitudinal fiat metal side members and a pair of cross or end members 2|. The ends of the respective :bars or strips are joined together to form a frame, each of the four corners of the frame constituting a pivotal joint formed preferably by a rivet pin as indicated at 23.to permit the frame to be collapsed as hereinafter described.

Each side member 20 may be described as an elongated hinge, being made up of a pair of flat bars or limbs 2222 hingedly connected together by a hinge type joint 24. This joint is formed of a curled end or tongue 25 of one strip engaged in a rectangular hole 26 formed in its mating strip. The structure is detailed in Figure 8 and permits the limbs 22 to be doubled one upon the other in either direction to collapse the frame. v Each end member 2| likewise constitutes a pair of limbs 21 flexibly joined together, in this instance by means of a toggle type joint 28. The joint is formed preferably by a rivet pin 29 as detailed in Figure 9. This joint includes a. pair of stops 30 which meet each other and prevent the limbs from swinging beyond a straight line position as shown in Figure 2 but which permits the limbs to be collapsed in a lateral direction inwardly toward each other as shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The toggle effect of end members 2| thus forces the side members 20 apart as the frame is erected and draws the seat width-wise therebetween. By virtue of the hinge joint 24 the side members 20 are rigid laterally and thus support the seat cover safely. When erected the self-locking toggle action of the joint 28 locks the end members 2| in a sraight line dead center position, as in Figure 2, to maintain the frame in erected condi- 4 tion. As the end members 2| reach the self looking straight line position, the seat panel H is drawn lengthwise therebetween as shown in Figure 2, the panel thus being pulled in both directions to maintain it in place. The cover is thus spanned upon the frame and the device may be placed upon the seat 3| of a standard toilet fixture asshownin Figure 1. The fabric seat is comfortable and by virtue of the frame provides a-firm and safe support for the child.

After use, the seat assembly may quickly be snapped to a collapsed condition by pressing the end'members 2| inwardly a suflicient distance to overcome the toggle lock established by the joints 28. Pressure on the side member 20 then causes the limbs 21 of end members 2| to hinge in scissors fashion as shown in Figures 3 and 4, bringing "the side members together as shown. It will be observed that the tie cords H are omitted from the toggle limbs 21 to facilitate the scissors motion of the limbs.

The fabric seat member is thus doubled upon itself. As shown in Figures 3 to 5 inclusive the fabric tends to break for folding purposes along the central line 32. A pleat 33 thus extends laterally (Figure 4) when the side elements are brought together. The under side of the panel which contacts the toilet seat is thus doubled upon itself to prevent possible contamination of the upper surface of the panel. This pleat or doubled material is then folded over upon the frame members as shown in Figure 5. The assembly then may be doubled upon itself as shown in Figure 6 by .virtue of the hinge joints 24 of side members 20 thus forming a small compact unit. In the position shown in Figure 6 the metal frame is entirely encased and the fabric covered unit may be slipped into the coat'pocket or the hand bag.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A collapsible toilet seat adapted to be placed upon a standard toilet seat to convert the same to the use of an infant comprising; a seat panel, said panel formed of flexible material and having an opening therein to provide an infants toilet seat, a collapsible frame unit for said seat panel, said frame unit formed of, respective pairs of side and end members, said members being disposed in a relationship conforming to the contour of the seat panel and spaced inwardly within the confines thereof, each of said side members respectively having a joint medially of its length adapting the same to be folded in either direction in a plane lateral to the plane of the seat panel and being rigid in the plane of the panel, and each of said end members respectively having a joint medially of its length adapting the same to be folded inwardly in a plane parallel with the seat panel and being rigid in a plane lateral to the plane of the seat paneL'and said end memhere including locking means to lock the same in a straight line position.

2. A collapsible toilet seat adapted to be placed upon a standard toilet seat to convert the same to the use of an infant comprising; a seat panel, said panel formed of flexible material and hav-' ing an opening therein to provide an infant's toilet seat, respective side framing members for said panel, said members disposed in parallel relationship and extending along the sides of said seat panel, hinge means respectively on each of said side members permitting each member to be doubled over upon itself in either direction, said hinge means being rigid in the plane of the panel, means for attaching the seat panel to said side framing members, respective toggle links, said links disposed in parallel relationship at opposite ends of said panel to provide end framing members therefor, each of said links having its respective opposite ends pivotally connected to the ends of said side members to sustain the same in spaced relationship, said links adapted to be collapsed inwardly toward each other to bring said side members together in side by side relationship whereby the side members may be doubled over to be wrapped in the seat panel.

3. A collapsible toilet seat adapted to be placed upon a standard toilet seat to convert the same to the use of an infant, comprising; a seat panel, said panel formed of flexible material and having an opening therein to provide an infants toilet seat, respective side framing members for said panel, said members disposed in parallel relationship and extending along the sides of said seat panel, hinge means respectively on each of said side members permitting each member to be doubled over upon itself in either direction lateral to the plane of said seat panel, said hinge means being rigid in the plane of the panel,

means for attaching the seat panel to said side framing members, a pair of toggle links, said links disposed in parallel relationship at opposite ends of said panel to provide end framing members therefor, each of said links having its respective opposite ends pivotally connected to the ends of said side members to lock the same in spaced relationship, hinge means respectively for each of said toggle links, said hinge means permitting each link to be doubled inwardly in the plane of the seat panel, said hinge means being rigid in a direction lateral to the plane of said panel, and self-locking means on each of said hingle means to lock the links respectively in straight line extended position and permitting the links to be collapsed inwardly toward each other to bring said side members together in side by side relationship whereby the side members may be doubled over to be wrapped in the seat panel.

4. A collapsible nursery seat adapted to be placed upon a standard toilet seat to convert the same to the use of an infant comprising; a seat panel, said panel having an opening therein to provide an infants toilet seat, a collapsible frame unit for said seat panel, said frame unit formed of respective pairs of side and end members, said side members each constituting a pair of fiat metal limbs, one limb of each pair having a curled tongue engaged in an aperture formed in its mating limb to provide a hinge, said end members each constituting a pair of toggle links, each of said links having its respective opposite ends pivotally connected to the opposite ends of said side members to lock the same in spaced relationship, said hinge means permitting each side member to flex in either direction at right angles to the plane of the seat panel to conform to a toilet seat and being rigid in the plane of said panel and said toggle links adapted to be collapsed inwardly toward each other to bring said side members together in side by side relationship whereby the side members ma; be doubled over to be wrapped in the seat panel.

5. A collapsible seat of the class described comprising; a seat panel formed of flexible material and having an opening therein, a frame, said frame having pairs of side and end members respectively, said members pivotally joined together to form a collapsible unit, each member being formed of a pair of limbs having their ends pivotally joined together to permit the limbs of said side members to be folded one upon the other in either direction, and of said end members to be folded into side by side relationship, means for attaching said seat panel to the frame, the limbs of said end members constituting toggle links for locking said frame in erected relationship with the said panel stretched thereon, said toggle links permitting the frame to be collapsed and folded with the said panel wrapped about the frame to form a compact package.

ARTHUR E. ROBERTS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 957,822 Vanosdall et a1 May 10, 1910 2,247,360 Clayton July 1, 1941 2,327,919 Montgomery Aug. 24, 1943 2,328,047 Anderson et al. Aug. 31, 1943 2,367,167 Carpenter Jan. 9, 1945 

